Eva Pasco's Blog, page 7

Eva’s Byte #494 – A Moose, I Deduce!

The mighty moose is uncommon in my native state of Rhode Island due to the ease of hunting them with muskets during the Colonial period. The Narragansetts called the moose, “moòsóog” or “moose”.

My recent moose sighting occurred the morning of October 10, 2024:

Driving along Route 114S, the two-lane, also known as Wampanoag Trail, I espied a majestic, golden brown moose running on the narrow, grassy lane parallel to the highway.

Presumably, the highway hipster made it to the densely wooded area just beyond.

I’ve not mistaken a moose for a reindeer, prevalent in my neck of the woods. Its scalloped, open-hand shaped antlers confirm my sighting as such. Besides, I’ve watched enough cartoon episodes of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends to know it’s so.

In the capacity of a writer, I’ve finished drafting chapter 4 (1466 words) of my Contemporary work in progress. I’ve begun drafting chapter 5 (114 words thus far).

*May self-confidence outshine self-doubt.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #493 – The Lone Mower

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to those in Milton’s path, and to those coming to grips with the aftermath of Helene—more than likely, one and the same.

My stuff:

By late October or early November, most folks in my neck of New England will stop mowing their lawns because the grass is “no longer” growing. Riding through a residential neighborhood with well-maintained yards, I espied a lone mower on the range.

A somewhat uncommon occurrence at this point in time when leaves are beginning to show their true colors, rarer still: an elderly gent pushing a manual reel mower. Granted, the area was a postage stamp lawn. Still, he had to slog his way through thick and lush grass.

Reel mowers fell out of favor in the Sixties and Seventies. Even though leaf blowers have come into their own, rakes are still on the uptake.

In the capacity of a writer, I’m pushing through the draft of chapter 4 (1073 words thus far) along my Contemporary work in progress.

*Along the lone venture of writing, may each of us push ahead with our own word power.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #492 – Struggles

My short-lived struggle to slip insulated air conditioner covers on two inside window-mounted units counts for naught in the grand scheme of things. There are plenty of folks struggling to come to grips with Hurricane Helene’s devastation.

As well, the ever-present struggle of the homeless hit home even harder this week when I, along with other residents, couldn’t unlock the side door of our apartment building. Apparently, vagrants tampered with the mechanism and gained entrance to seek overnight shelter in the basement.

While I relish the season of autumn for its magnificent foliage and crisp air, there are those who struggle to find a warm place to stave off the cold.

In the capacity of a writer, I’m moseying along the draft of chapter 4 (649 words thus far) in my Contemporary.

*May each of us writers enjoy tampering with words to unlock our stories begging to be told.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #491 – Convictions

Not the only writer whose hard drive retains incriminating evidence of macabre research data, I’m in the same camp with those authors who strive to write fiction with conviction.

Why, most authors wouldn’t even harm a fly!

Operative word, “most”.

Some have been convicted of murder.

With Halloween coming around the bend, my morbid curiosity behooved me to research such truths stranger than fiction.

Lo and behold!

Having no intention of glorifying criminals who’ve crossed the line onto non-fictitious territory, I’ll merely gloss over the murder warranting a conviction for which they’ve served time:

At the age of sixteen, bludgeoning a friend’s mother to death with a rock.

Accidentally shooting and killing a spouse in a drunken prank.

Shooting and killing a classmate, then cannibalizing the remains.

Foretold in the title of the author’s book, murdering a spouse.

Killing it in the capacity of a writer, I’ve crossed the fictitious finish line for the draft of chapter 3 (950 words). I’ve begun puttering around drafting chapter 4.

*May literary crime pay for those of us who write fiction with murderous content.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #490 – Mechanics

Aside from unleashing one’s imagination to run wild when composing a story, the mechanics of writing are important. We owe our readers clarity and readability vis a vis the components of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and adherence to basic grammar rules—before we hit “publish”.

At this juncture in the literary journey of drafting my Contemporary work in progress, I’m motoring along chapter 3 (447 words thus far). I’m greasing the wheels of my mind and gearing up the scene with tools of the trade:

1967 Chevy C-10 pickup
Carburetor installation
Socket wrench

Setting aside struts, a key part of a car’s suspension system that helps with handling, ride quality, and steering—it’s more important for me to strut my stuff about auto mechanics rather than dwelling on writing mechanics. I daresay, I’m kicking asphalt.

*May each of us kick-start a creative endeavor using the tools of our trade.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #489 – Irony

Eva’s Byte #489 – Irony

While one might be hard-pressed to find anyone who irons clothing these days, it's full steam ahead for me. Until my old faithful geyser of a steam iron shorted itself out.

Hacks aside, such as clothing steamers or wrinkle-removing sprays, I prefer pumping iron. Hence, I purchased a steam iron of the same pedigree for its proven track record of having smoothed out wrinkles practically every day over the past sixteen years. The new workhorse sputters and gurgles like a champion Glidesdale.

In the capacity of a writer, I’m pressing forward along the draft of my Contemporary work in progress, gliding toward the end of Chapter 2 (755 words thus far).

*For those kindred spirits in the throes of writing, may each of us strike while the irony is hot.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #488 – Keyed Up

The key to my mailbox in the cluster box unit at my apartment complex took a turn for the worse. All of my frantic key jiggling couldn’t engage the lock to open the mailbox. My struggles to retract the key resulted in mangling the metal shy of snapping it! On the manager’s day off, I keyed up to take matters in my own hands.

Cutting through all the red tape to get to the point:

With moments to spare before the local post office closed, I arrived in the nick of time to report my issue. The postal clerk straightened out the key, useless, due to its deep rift. I ended up filling out a form to hold my mail. I paid $35.00 to replace the lock and key, despite pleading my case against doing so.

A key factor:

The next day, I brought the matter up with management. Since the owners of the apartment complex are responsible for the mailboxes, the manager called the post office and spoke to the supervisor on my behalf. I’m getting my deposit back.

In the capacity of a writer with little time to spare, I’ve managed to tweak the draft of chapter 1 to 661 words. I’m winding along chapter 2 (454 words thus far).

*May each of us hold the key for unlocking our imagination.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #487 – Murder in Fiction

If you enjoy treading on the dark side of the human equation when it comes to writing, nasty business comes with the territory, be it staging an accidental death or plotting a murder.

As I embark on the initial stage along the journey of drafting my new Contemporary work in progress, I’ve undertaken the process of elimination and I’m unraveling the aftermath.

Of course, in the capacity of a writer, the matter of murder must involve creativity and cleverness.

What my murder or two won’t involve has already been well-done in Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. A jilted wife bludgeons her husband with a leg of lamb, roasts the weapon, and serves it to the police officers investigating his death.

Writing Progress:

At this point in time, I've completed the draft of chapter 1 (653 words). I’m now composing Chapter 2 (150 words thus far).

*May each of us writers make good use of our poetic license to kill.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #486 – Going the Distance

Often enough, we hit the ground running to go the distance for someone near and dear to us. The same person who used to go the distance for us. In that regard, all else is on hold and you’re missing in action where you don’t need to be.
In retrospect, you marvel at your own strength and stamina to keep going the distance until all criteria is met where you can finally glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel.
In the capacity of a writer, advancement along my brand new contemporary work in progress had taken a proverbial back seat. Nevertheless, the windmills of my mind are still spinning ideas to further the distance along the draft of chapter 1 (475 words thus far).

*May each of us go the distance from start to finish.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den: Page:http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco

Eva’s Byte #486 – Going the Distance

Often enough, we hit the ground running to go the distance for someone near and dear to us. The same person who used to go the distance for us. In that regard, all else is on hold and you’re missing in action where you don’t need to be.

In retrospect, you marvel at your own strength and stamina to keep going the distance until all criteria is met where you can finally glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel.

In the capacity of a writer, advancement along my brand new contemporary work in progress had taken a proverbial back seat. Nevertheless, the windmills of my mind are still spinning ideas to further the distance along the draft of chapter 1 (475 words thus far).

*May each of us go the distance from start to finish.

My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.

Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco